Law and Order UK
I just discovered the UK version of Law and Order - same formula as the American show but with such lovely actors. The older detective, Ronnie Brooks, is liberal and caring, speaks French and is always hungry. The younger one, Matt Devlin, is beautiful, a little more 'right wing', but compassionate. The Crown Prosecutors are Alesha Phillips and James Steel, both passionate and determined.
Many of the actors are familiar to me - one thing about British actors is that they tend to play a wide variety of parts in very different shows, so viewers recognize the faces and voices, but the characters are not as 'set' as American ones tend to be (Chris Noth in L&O, Sex in the City, or L&O CI is a pretty similar character, David Caruso is more Caruso-like in CSI Miami than he was in NYPD Blue, not more Caine-like). Bradley Walsh, Harriet Walter (who plays the DI), Ben Daniels, and Bill Patterson are all actors whose work I have admired in the past in numerous British shows. Freema Agteman and Jamie Bamber are the younger members of the cast - she of course is from Dr Who (Martha) and he was Archie Kennedy in Hornblower (as well as Apollo Adama in Battlestar Galactica, but I don't watch that!). All are solid, thoughtful, strong actors, making an incredible ensemble.
I really like the show - the court scenes are very British, the whole thing was quite understated, but the story was interesting and unusual, a quiet domestic crime with some unexpected twists. It is a less intense version of the American show, although that may change. I'm not sure how it will develop, whether it will be able to build the same kind of following, or even if it deserves to. I'm not really sure that the UK had to use the US formula, as they have always done crime dramas quite well. However, I am sure that next week, I will be looking for the next episode!
Many of the actors are familiar to me - one thing about British actors is that they tend to play a wide variety of parts in very different shows, so viewers recognize the faces and voices, but the characters are not as 'set' as American ones tend to be (Chris Noth in L&O, Sex in the City, or L&O CI is a pretty similar character, David Caruso is more Caruso-like in CSI Miami than he was in NYPD Blue, not more Caine-like). Bradley Walsh, Harriet Walter (who plays the DI), Ben Daniels, and Bill Patterson are all actors whose work I have admired in the past in numerous British shows. Freema Agteman and Jamie Bamber are the younger members of the cast - she of course is from Dr Who (Martha) and he was Archie Kennedy in Hornblower (as well as Apollo Adama in Battlestar Galactica, but I don't watch that!). All are solid, thoughtful, strong actors, making an incredible ensemble.
I really like the show - the court scenes are very British, the whole thing was quite understated, but the story was interesting and unusual, a quiet domestic crime with some unexpected twists. It is a less intense version of the American show, although that may change. I'm not sure how it will develop, whether it will be able to build the same kind of following, or even if it deserves to. I'm not really sure that the UK had to use the US formula, as they have always done crime dramas quite well. However, I am sure that next week, I will be looking for the next episode!